Thursday, March 03, 2016

Bass Bits #6 - Seventies Soul

The Seventies soul bass sort of bibbles away, a gentle strength that supports and complements.Hear it at its utmost at 1.04 on "I'll be Around" and each time thereafter the chorus comes around. A heart-murmur, steadfast and true. Tremulous with yearn.That there's Ronnie Baker of MSFB.Mr Baker, again. Subdued, barely audible, but playing its part:

Presumably that is Timmy Thomas himself playing a basso continuo on his Lowrey organ.

Steve Scipio on the bass (and co-writer of the song / co-mainstay of Cymande)Now those last two I associate with that mid-70s K-Tel compilation series with the dare I say "iconic" album cover.

Which you could find real cheap around about the time I started taking an interest in soul i.e. 1980 or so. Actually Timmy Thomas and Cymande were right next to each other on side 2 of Super Bad.

Of course, it would be easier to just say "Seventies Soul" and leave it that, because great bass is a constant - mostly in a low-key, playing-its-part way. Another beautiful bit of bass work - by Donald 'Duck' Dunn presumably:
As things get more funkay, the bass gets more assertive:

B.B. Dickerson of War

There was a moment when I thought "Low Rider" was the ultimate in music.

Okay, with this next one we are leaving soul behind for discofunk

There's a ghostly gaseous glassy glide to the bass (Mario Montese or Roy Carter) that makes me think of A Certain Ratio...